Conflict Management and Mediation Skills Course

Management. Lift your career and your organisation.

From now until 30 June 2019, enrol in any two Business and management courses on our website and receive a 20% discount. These courses appear in the Business and management section of our website.

Once two courses are added to your shopping cart the discount will apply automatically. Enrolments made as part of this offer are non-refundable and this discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Sorting out conflict is one of the most challenging responsibilities you’ll face as a people manager. Learn to meet that challenge with confidence, using simple mediation techniques. Minimise risk and maximise team productivity by assisting your people to sort out ‘personality differences’, disagreements and conflicts.

Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor Shakiba is an expert in social and emotional intelligence. She has taught over 50,000 people to think and speak in ways which build success. She has been teaching at the Centre for Continuing Education for over ten years.

Eleanor’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Anthropology, Graduate Certificate in Applied Psychology, Graduate Diploma in Adult Education, Master Practitioner and Trainer certifications in accreditation to administer MBTI and DISC psychometric instruments and LEADR training in mediation. She writes and teaches in the areas of applied psychology, communication and conflict resolution.

Aims

Take your people management skills to a higher level, by learning simple mediation techniques. Decide when it’s appropriate for you to mediate and when you need additional help from a professional. Use a four-step process for addressing conflict between team members. Set a constructive tone for discussion, using positive framing techniques. Help team members discuss their needs and concerns successfully, by posing solution-focused questions. Use conflict-mapping techniques to facilitate problem-solving discussions. This course gives you practical tools for addressing team conflict in the early stages and preserving positive team dynamics.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

apply basic mediation techniques appropriately in a workplace context

define mediation and the manager’s role in informal mediations

plan and lead a simple mediation conversation, using a four-step process

establish ground rules for the discussion and explain the mediation process to others

help team members isolate and address key issues in their conflict

map the perspectives of each party, to build mutual understanding

guide the process of developing mutually agreeable options and creating an action plan.

Content

What is mediation?

Mediation is a process for resolving conflicts or disputes. It aims to create solutions to problems and resolve workplace disagreements constructively. Discuss a range of ways team conflict can be addressed, and use a simple checklist to determine whether informal mediation will be a useful approach to take in your team’s situation.

Your role as mediator

A mediator’s role is to facilitate, not adjudicate. Discuss the difference between these two approaches and learn how to set the frame for a mediation session. Apply key principles of effective mediation in your workplace setting. Learn the dos and don’ts of your role as mediator.

Planning and structuring a mediation

Define the key stages of a mediation. Create a plan for your mediation. Prepare a suitable environment for the mediation session. Explain the mediation process to your team members and set boundaries and guidelines for the conversation.

Helping people focus on issues

Stage one of mediation is defining the core issue/s to be addressed. This isn’t always simple, as emotions may be running high at the start of the conversation. Learn how to facilitate a conversation in which your team members define the key issue in neutral language. Open the mediation on a positive note. Help others separate the people from the problem – so they can address the issue logically rather than emotionally. Use fishbone diagrams to identify potential contributing factors.

Drawing out needs and concerns

Before people can generate options for resolving their differences, they need to fully understand each other’s needs and concerns. Discover how to frame and guide a conversation about these two key elements. Use neutral questions and reflective statements to facilitate an open exchange of perspectives, whilst maintaining a respectful and psychologically safe space. Create a ‘conflict map’ to guide the conversation and track the key needs and concerns as they emerge.

Facilitating the solution-building process

The aim of mediation is to build win-win solutions. Learn how to explain what win-win is to your staff. Use solution focused questions to guide the solution-building process. Create an option generator to deal with complex issues or use simple brainstorming techniques to keep the conversation outcome-focused.

Building an action plan and closing the mediation

The output of a successful mediation discussion is an action plan. Use nominal group technique to guide your team members through the process of selecting their best options and creating their action plan. Ensure that a follow-up meeting is scheduled to check on progress with implementing this plan. Use positive framing techniques to close the conversation on a high note.

Intended audience

Suitable for managers, supervisors and team leaders, who have at least 3 years' experience in people management. It would also benefit business owners and entrepreneurs seeking to improve their influencing skills.

Prerequisites

As this course is suitable for people who are in management or senior supervisory roles, it is assumed you already possess basic skills in active listening, questioning and leading workplace conversations as well as experience managing people.